


Four Fourth of Julys

by veras



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fluff, Fourth of July, Kid Fic, M/M, Panic Attacks, Teenagers, Temporary Character Death, World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-04-07 14:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4266903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veras/pseuds/veras
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve and Bucky celebrating the Fourth of July together over the years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. July 4, 1928

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is au af b/c both Steve's and Bucky's childhoods the MCU and 616 are super sad but it is leaning more towards MCU in terms of age so Steve is just turning 10 and Bucky is 11
> 
> Loosely based off of my tweets from earlier tonight [[x](https://twitter.com/SNIPERBARNES/status/617137418232287232)] [[x](https://twitter.com/SNIPERBARNES/status/617138174935101441)] [[x](https://twitter.com/SNIPERBARNES/status/617138568373342208)]

“Ma, I’m going to Steve’s!” Bucky shouted out.

“Use the front door, James!” Winifred replied, but it was too late, as Bucky had already climbed out of his window, onto the fire escape, up the ladder, and onto the fire escape of the apartment above his. He rapped his knuckles quickly against the window pane, nose pressed directly against the glass.

“Hey Steve, you in there?”

Steve heard the muffled voice and sat up from his bed. Turning around, he saw Bucky face squished against the window. Flipping the sheets over and climbing out of bed, Steve moved to open the window. However, as soon as he pulled the latch on the lock, Bucky pushed the window up.

“Hey, Buck,”

Bucky ducked inside Steve’s bedroom with a grin on his face that showed his missing front tooth.

“Heya, Stevie,” Bucky kicked his shoes off and bounced onto the bed, lying down on his back with his feet crossed as the ankles and his arms crossed underneath his head. “Got any plans for today?”

Steve followed Bucky onto the bed, lying on his stomach, chin resting in the palms of his hands. “Nah, my stomach’s not feelin’ any good and Momma’s gonna be at work ‘til late tonight so I’ve gotta stay in bed an’ rest.”

Bucky's face scrunched up in distaste.

"That's no fun," he said, sitting up. Steve followed suit.

"I know, but I've gotta, Buck." Steve said quietly, fingers toying with the loose thread on the edge of his pajama pants.

"But what about the fireworks? We always watch the fireworks!" Bucky started bouncing on his knees, and the mattress springs began squeaking.

"Buck, I already told ya, I can't go anywhere. I'm just gonna end up getting more sick than I already am."

Bucky was quiet for a moment, his face pensive as he contemplated a solution to what was doomed to be Steve's most boring birthday yet.

Bucky leaned forward, a Cheshire grin on his face. "But technically you wouldn't be leaving the apartment if we just went up to the roof, right?"

Steve’s eyes widened and a smile grew on his face. “Nope,” he said, stomachache seemingly having disappeared as he scrambled off of the bed and ran towards his dresser, not even blinking when tripped on the way there. “Oof,”

“Aw, Steve, you gotta be careful,” Bucky ran to help Steve up, but the blond had already picked himself up and started rummaging through his dresser.

“Nah Buck, I’m fine,” he said, nearly out of breath, but still smiling. Just as quickly as he made it to the dresser, Steve ran off to the bathroom down the hall with a bundle of clothes in his hand.

★★★

Steve came running back to his bedroom just a few minutes later to meet Bucky sitting on the bed with his hands under his butt and swinging his legs back and forth.

"Are we gonna go now?" Steve asked, standing in front of Bucky, rocking on his heels with his arms crossed behind him.

"Yeah, let's go!"

The two boys raced out of the apartment ― Steve had to run back, remembering to lock the door ― and up the stairwell to the roof of the apartment building.

★★★

"Hey, Stevie?"

"Yeah, Buck?"

"Lookie here," Bucky pulled out a paper bag from the pocket of his too-big cargo shorts.

"What's in there?"

"Nathan's," Bucky said, unfolding the bag and taking out the hot dog wrapped in a sheet of wax paper. "Ma took me and Becca to Coney Island earlier. Knew your ma wouldn't'a let you go even if you weren't sick, so I saved mine to share."

Bucky took the hot dog and carefully broke it in half, subtly giving Steve the larger half of the two.

Music floated up to the roof through the open window of Ms. Jackson's apartment on the top floor. The familiar melody of the Star Spangled Banner indicated to Bucky that the fireworks show was about to begin.

"Steve, it's about to start!" Bucky got up from his previous sitting position to kneel, back completely straight and neck craned to get the best view.

Steve set his hot dog down on top of the paper bag and sat back, pulling his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around his shins, and resting his chin on his knees.

Then, the fireworks began. Bright colors exploded in the sky. Flashes of red, white, and blue erupted in front of the stars before slowly falling down the sky, shimmering behind a thin layer of smoke. Music flowed in faintly from Ms. Jackson's radio.

"Look at those fireworks, just for you, Stevie! How about that?"

"Naw, they ain't,"

"Dunno what you're talkin' about," Bucky shrugged. "Course they are,"

Steve rolled his eyes. "Sure, Buck,"

The show closed with a massive amount of large fireworks all exploding at once. As they began to die down, Bucky sat back on his butt, leaning back, upper body propped up on his elbows. He looked over at Steve, who was still curled up in a little ball, watching the last of the sparks fall from the sky.

Bucky shifted his body so that he was lying down on his side with his hands flat beneath his head.

"Happy birthday, Stevie."

Steve turned his head, eyes still wide from watching the fireworks intently. A small smile formed on his face. "Thanks, Buck,"

He gently rearranged himself so that he was also lying on his side, facing Bucky.

"Did'ya have a good birthday?"

"Better now that you're here,"

"Yeah, I know," Bucky smirked and Steve giggled, slapping his friend on the arm. "Must'a sucked lying sick in bed without anyone to keep you company."

"Yeah,"

Bucky took a stray hair that laid in front of Steve's face right between his eyes and tucked it behind his ear. "Well, it's a good thing I'm here now, ain't it?"

"Nah,"

"You're such a little punk, aren't ya?" Bucky teased.

"Only if you're a jerk," Steve bit back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's literally 2am right now and I don't know what I'm doing  
> Hit me up on [Tumblr](http://www.blueberrycapsicle.tumblr.com/)
> 
> 3/6/16 update: I made a few minor grammatical corrections, and am currently working on chapter 4!


	2. July 4, 1934

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Steve's 16th birthday!
> 
> I don't know what the fuck this is  
> Probably just more trash

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to youuu! Happy birthday, dear Stevie, happy –"

"What the hell are you doing Buck?" Steve walked into his bedroom to see Bucky struggling to climb through his bedroom window while singing the Happy Birthday song.

"What do you think I'm doing? Yikes!" Bucky finally pushed himself through the window and landed on the floor ungracefully. Standing up and brushing his pants off, Bucky grinned at Steve for a moment before his smile quickly turned into a frown. "Where the hell were you?"

Steve sighed and turned around to flop down stomach first onto his bed, hiding his bruised face and black eye in pillow.

"Damn, Steve. You're gonna get yourself in some serious trouble one day."

Steve sat up and glared at Bucky. "You think I don't know that?"

"Then why do you keep picking fights with people?"

"What was I supposed to do, let her get beat up and robbed?"

Bucky sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Running his fingers through his hair, Bucky sat down next to Steve on the bed. He wrapped his arm around the blond's small frame and pulled him towards his chest.

"You're such a fuckin' punk."

"I've been told."

★★★

Bucky and Steve were lying down on the roof of their apartment building, hands crossed beneath their heads. An unlit cigarette hung from the corner of Bucky's mouth.

Bucky took the cigarette out of his mouth and tilted his head toward Steve. "Hey, Stevie, how about them birthday fireworks up there?"

"Shut up, you jerk."

They both laughed.

★★★

The fireworks shot up from Coney Island's coast. Red, white, and blue exploded across the dark sky before colorless sparks fell back down towards the ground, disappearing behind the city skyline.

“Thinkin’ about dropping outta school,” Bucky said quietly, as though he were speaking more to the heavens above then to the boy next to him. His cigarette was still hanging out of the corner of his mouth, but it was now lit. Smoke billowed out of his mouth as he spoke.

“What’s that, Buck?”

Bucky blinked for a second, confused as to how Steve heard what he thought he hadn’t said out loud. “Nothin’, Stevie,” Bucky mumbled, knowing Steve would disapprove of his idea.

“Nothin’ my ass,” Steve plucked the cigarette out of Bucky’s mouth and held it between his index and middle fingers. He shifted his body slightly so that he was lying on his stomach and resting on his forearms. “What is it?”

Bucky turned onto his side and looked up at Steve, already feeling guilty. “I’m gonna drop outta school. Needa pick up more jobs. Ma’s got her hands full, but it still ain’t enough ‒ not with Dad gone. Still gotta eat, ya know,”

“But, Buck, you do so well in school! You’d probably get into more colleges than me if you just stuck around long enough to apply. Hell, Columbia’d probably accept you now, scholarship and all!” Steve was now frantically running his hands through his hair, confused, bewildered, and upset all at the same time. Bucky’s cigarette lay forgotten on the ground.

“Drop it, Steve. We both know that's a load of bullshit anyway.” Bucky let out a long sigh before moving to return to lying on his back, his head rested on one forearm while the other arm lay limp on his stomach. “I just need enough to keep us goin’ ‘til I turn eighteen, then I can join Dad in the military.”

Steve’s been through this same argument with Bucky before, and while every fiber in his being wanted to start protesting, he knew it would just end bitterly ‒ and that was the last thing that Steve wanted to happen on his birthday. So he just sighed and moved closer to Bucky, resting his head on the brunette’s chest. Bucky began to comb his fingers through Steve’s hair as he softly sang the Happy Birthday song once again. Steve didn’t comment this time.

The two watched the fireworks bloom above them while Bucky’s abandoned cigarette burned into the concrete behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](http://blueberrycapsicle.tumblr.com)


	3. July 4, 1945

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags have been updated!
> 
> Anyway, I was supposed to post this a week ago I'm so sorry here you go

It was Steve’s first birthday without Bucky since 1922. The Howling Commandos were back at the fire pit, passing around bottles of whiskey, celebrating the night happily, as people should. But Steve didn’t usually do what he was supposed to do.

The camp was relatively quiet from where Steve was sitting. The roars of laughter and the clinking of mugs were muted and everyone else that occupied the base was asleep.

Steve sat alone quietly. His knees were pulled up to his chest, with his arms wrapped around his shins and his chin rested on top of his knees.

Steve began to draw circles in the dirt with his finger, singing softly to himself.

“Somewhere over the rainbow way up high, here's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.”

The blond closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall of the barrack he was hidden behind. He tried to bring himself back to Brooklyn, onto the roof of his apartment building. He tried to imagine himself lying down next to Bucky, watching the fireworks from Coney Island light up the dark night. He tried to see the flashes of color explode across the sky above and smell the smoke from Bucky’s cigarette. He tried to feel the summer warmth on his skin.

But every time he closed his eyes all he felt was cold. He felt a bitter and unforgiving winter hit him like a snowstorm, and when the avalanche calmed down just enough for him to get a clear sight of what was in front of him, all he saw was Bucky falling in the dark abyss below, over and over again.

Steve suddenly opened his eyes and stood up, panting heavily. One palm was pressed to his stomach while the other was pressed against the wall behind him, trying to keep him balanced. The blond struggled to take deep breaths, heaving and sweating. He felt stuck. He wanted to run and scream, but he could even open his mouth to let out a sound no matter how hard he tried. He felt like he was back on the train, watching as Bucky just missed his hand. How he wanted to do everything, but he couldn’t do anything.

He stood there for what felt like hours, feeling angry and sad at the same time. He couldn’t move or speak ‒ he could barely think, but when he could, it was like his body didn’t want to listen to his mind anyway.

★★★

“Alright, I’m goin’ go find the captain. He must be gettin’ lonely,” Dum Dum sat up and lightly brushed off his pants. He headed towards the barrack that the Howling Commandos shared, but as he reached for the door handle, he heard the someone behind one of the nearby barracks.

Confused, Dum Dum turned away from the door and walked towards the building, hand close to the holster on his thigh that held his pistol. As he quietly made around the corner of the barrack, he spotted someone curled up near the opposite corner, taking quick and audible breaths. Squinting and leaning forward just enough to see while staying hidden in the shadows, Dum Dum saw that it was the captain that he was looking for. Whether it was because of his alcohol levels or the low lighting that offered very little visibility, the soldier decided to leave the captain alone to what what seemed like a quiet night in grievance, not realizing that this was the worst night out of the all the dark nights in the year to leave the captain alone.

★★★

Once Steve’s heart rate began to slow down and he slowly regained control of his body and mind, he started to move back towards his own barrack, stumbling and losing his footing a few times along the way.

He finally made it inside, collapsing on his cot without bothering to remove his boots, much less any other pieces of his uniform. He buried his head in his pillow and took a deep breath, trying as hard as he could to smell the distant scent of Bucky’s cigarette smoke and cologne that wasn’t there. He cried until he fell asleep, dreaming of a Brooklyn rooftop.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](http://blueberrycapsicle.tumblr.com)


	4. July 4, 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of Civil War isn't exactly my jam so we're just going to pretend that whole movie just never happened
> 
> I'm so sorry that this took so long! I swear I was planning on getting to it at some point but when I noticed that today was the fourth, and so I pretty much forced myself to write this last chapter. I hope you all like it!

Steve hummed softly to himself as he read the instructions on the back of the instant cupcake box. Bucky eyed him warily from the window.

“If we had gone to Stark’s party, he would have had plenty of those already, decorated and all. They probably would have tasted better, too.”

“Twenty minutes,” Steve muttered to himself before looking up at Bucky. “Neither you nor I wanted to go to that party, and we both know that.”

The blonde set the timer on the oven, then returned back to the nest of blankets and pillows that he and Bucky had set up near the window. Getting themselves onto a rooftop to watch the fireworks would have required them to make an appearance at the Stark Industries Annual Independence Day Party, something neither of the nonagenarians were interested in. The crowded scene, loud music, and even louder fireworks didn't exactly sound appealing when they first received the invitation, and quite frankly, still didn't sound all that exciting now.

“Do you think we’ll be able to hear the fireworks from in here?” Bucky asked softly. The two men had discussed days before that they both wanted to avoid loud whistles and bangs that reminded them of the battles they had lived through.

“Tony said that the walls and windows were soundproofed.” Steve stated, not completely sure that he could give a definitive answer, despite most of Stark’s claims being true, most of the time. “If the sound gets bothersome, we can close the curtains and turn on the television.”

Bucky let out a long sigh, pulling a blanket up to his shoulders and letting his hair fall loosely in front of his face. “I wish we could have done something more exciting for your birthday than sitting inside watching fireworks through a window with a glare in it.”

“Hey,” Steve quickly snapped his head around from where it was looking out the window. “Can I comb your hair back?” Bucky nodded. Steve slowly pushed Bucky’s hair back, tucking the longer strands behind his ears. “I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than with you, regardless of where we are. So if you aren’t comfortable going outside, then we won't go outside. I promise that there’s no place in the world I’d be happier to spend my birthday at than here with you.”

Bucky nodded and rested his head against the wall, not completely reassured, but enough to leave the issue be.

★★★

“Sirs, the fireworks display will be beginning shortly, would you like me dim the lights?” JARVIS made his presence known.

Steve looked to Bucky for confirmation. The brunette shrugged and nodded. “Sure, JARVIS.” The lights slowly faded away so that the floor was almost completely dark, save for a few faint emergency lights and the oven light in the kitchen.

“At least the window glare is gone.” Steve pointed out, pulling a soft chuckle out of Bucky.

Fireworks began shooting off of the East River, and true to Tony’s word, all of the sounds from the explosions were missing.

“You know,” Steve started off, “You used to tell me all the time that they would set off those fireworks just for me.”

“You tryna pull some bullshit outta me to feed your big ego, Mr. Captain America?” Bucky snorted.

Steve merely rolled his eyes in response. “It’s just me being nostalgic, what’s new?”

“Hey, don't be like that. I never said it was a bad thing. Lucky for you, I love feeding your ego.”

They fell into a pleasant silence after that. Steve was more than content with his small birthday celebration. This day had seemingly been Bucky’s most comfortable, as he had been talking, smiling, and joking around all day. The idea that they were both happy and safe and most importantly, together, engulfed Steve like a warm bear hug. Blinking back into reality, he realized that that had not been the only thing hugging him. Bucky had adjusted himself and his blanket so that it lay over both of them and Bucky’s arm rested gently around Steve’s waist.

★★★

In the distance sat two Brooklyn boys on a Brooklyn rooftop, watching the fireworks. One of them would point out, “Hey Stevie, look, it’s your birthday extravaganza!” while the other would merely shake his head as and roll his eyes.

But right here and right now sat two Brooklyn boys, a little older and a little more tired, in a tower straight out of a science fiction comic, watching the fireworks. One of them would point out, “Hey Steve, did you know that those fireworks were meant just for you?” while the other would merely shake his head and roll his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](http://thiccbarnes.tumblr.com/)


End file.
